Monday 22 August 2011

Day 227, 247 & 265- Salad Days


1st July, A Really Boring Morning

Dear Diary,

I am so bored, bored, bored. I have just been peeling, peeling, peeling the whole morning and the end is no where in sight. I don't think I have ever hated salad as much as I do today. Salad is B-O-R-I-N-G and preparing for it is even WORSE. 


Even though I have brought the chore to the front porch which is supposed to be a whole lot more exciting than the kitchen, nothing is happening. The wind is still, the tree is quiet, even my toes have gone to sleep! 


I really wish I am far away from here now. I bet you, girls of those faraway places don't suffer like I do. I wonder about them sometime, you know. Like for instance, what do Spanish little girls do on mornings like this? 


I bet you they don't have to drink their black tea out of a broken old mug like mine. I know I was the one who refused to let Mama throw this mug out. After all, I did grow up with it since Mama had used it to feed me my 1st daal when I was nine months old. But today, I think I have finally outgrown it. Begone, ye old mug! Right after I finish my  tea of course.


And I bet you those girls don't have to peel anything with blunt cucumber knives either. It has taken me forever just to finish one cucumber and that is not all.


Look at this whole basket of potatoes I have to peel after that! When I grow up, I shall ban mashed potatoes from the dinner table. Or any kind of potatoes. I will spare my children from having to peel them. 


O me dear Lakshmi! I forgot there is this whole pail of cucumber I have yet to do. I can cry right now. 

I am sure Spanish people have servants to do all these tedious chores for them. Even better, maybe they have machines that can peel the skin off anything in the blink of an eye. All you have to do is to throw everything you want to peel into this super machine and Voila!

Do you know Spanish little girls love to say Voila!? OM told me so. When I asked him how he knew, he said his Spanish girlfriend told him. Giggle, giggle, giggle. OM is so crazy sometimes. I don't think Grandmama is Spanish at all! 


Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, there is something zooming over my head! I dare not look!


Ooooooh..


Awwwwwww

Diary, diary, diary. You won't believe what I have just seen. It's the most incredibly pretty bird and it just flew right onto my seat. It is playing with a loose hemp right now! It looks like the littlest phoenix. She is just so cute!


Now she's flown to our birdhouse! Maybe she will settle there? I bet you she flew here all the way from Spain too and needs a place to rest her wings. I have to run in and tell Mama. 

Guess what? Mama said we should name the bird Evalina! And that we will be having my favourite fried potato patties for dinner!


You know something, Diary? Maybe Salad Days aren't so bad after all. 

54 comments:

Piikko said...

Dear Sans, maybe peeling cucumbers is boring but after reading you story I also believe that it is not that Salad Days aren't so bad. Of course everything is better in Spain...:))))
I love your story, all the photos and scenes in them. And Fatima's hands on the wall♥
Hugs, piikko

Kim said...

ah, what a wonderful story- even more charming to me since I often report to my beloved diary too :) I always think I am looking at life size when I see your minis Sans ♥

Sans! said...

Piiko, actually I enjoyed peeling cucumbers quite a lot when I was at the ashram. Of all the food prep stuff, I enjoy peeling the most :).

I think Salad Days are the best :).

Thank you dear Piiko for visiting and for bringing me such kind words.

Sans! said...

Kim, when I was a young girl, I wrote in my diary as well. I stopped when I found out my sister had been reading my entries and reporting to my mum about them! We laugh about it now but then I wanted to kill her! :)

Never thought one day, I would be writing a diary for the world to see :).

I love it when you tell me my minis look big ..teehee :).

BiWuBär said...

OMG - I've been busy during the weekend and had not so much time for blogging, as a result I've now read your diary posts in one setting... what can I say - it's simply magic!!! I was really missing you because you've been very quiet for some time, but now you're back with trumpets and drums. Woohooo! I love everything you showed, your eye for details is amazing - as is the quality of your photos. But would you do me a little favour? Could you bring this lovely little diary writing girl some words of comfort from me? The cucumbers we use for salad are twice as long - so much more to peel... ;O)

Thank you for this wonderful posts, I'm so curious to read (and watch, of course) what will be going on next.

Greetings
Birgit

Sumaiya Mehreen said...

I am enjoying the photos and the stories so much!

Drora's minimundo said...

Another wonderful post I enjoyed reading and looking at your photos which are always superb. Hugs

cockerina said...

poor girl! forced to do so, to eat ... might have been born in Spain??
the bird is beautiful! and also the home of the bird ....
this diary is so compelling, and read the words and see things as a child, my heart melts!
Thanks San, you're so sweet!
I can not find words to say that your work is fantastic, I can only say that there is lots and lots of poetry!
many kisses! Caterina

The Old Maid said...

The music suits your diary stories the best today, dear Sans:) The story is so sweet - isn't that so: we often imagine how interesting and colourfull life must be on the other side of our world?;D

Natalia's Fine Needlework said...

Unbelievably great as usual! Just one question, probably a silly one: why do you peel the cucumbers for a salad?

Eva - tatalamaru said...

Que bonito, que amena haces la lectura de tu diario. Es una forma de presentar las minis preciosa, además la música me encanta, tengo tu blog abierto para escucharla, me relaja.
Besos

Flora said...

I do not know in Spain but in Italy, today, we (I)washed lettuce and cucumbers, peeled potatoes, cooked peppers and eggplants for capponata ...
But alternating with the NICE job of emptying the potty to poop and pee (it would be interesting to see how you interpret this, in miniature ...), and then, attack the washing machine, hang, noticing that some clothes were stained, re-washed, re-hang ... and no phoenix, came to the balcony to play!
Adorable as always your scene, not at all boring :-)
Mini hugs, Flora

Ascension said...

Pero que maravilla de pajarera es genial y ese pajarito me suena mucho jejejeje.
Es rinconcito es precioso, tan real.
Un diario de una niña encantadora y muy lista.
besitos ascension
Juraria que ya te habia dejado comentarios...mechachis estoy perdiendo la cabeza.

Daydreamer said...

AAAAHHH, Sans! Now I am MORE Enchanted than Ever! The lovely bird named Evalina trying to steal the hemp for her nest.... and the Beautiful Birdhouse with all it's tiny nest boxes.... And the mug for TEA!! Chipped like any old enamel ware mug should be.... we had a whole set of those at our Summer cabin only they were red yellow blue and orange.... I Wonder where they went? The cabin is long gone... but not the memories! And now your amazing pail of cucumbers! I agree that peeling veggies is boring.... but the results are worth it! In our LAZY days we only bake the potatoes with the skins on... and even boil them with the skins on... not as smooth and creamy for mashed potatoes.... but we always said if someone complained about the skins THEY could peel them next time!
Your story is getting better and better... pulling at the heart-strings of all us girls who have written in diaries and wanted to grow up.... only to look the other way when we ARE and wish we were young again! And the setting is so Beautiful and Photographed SO well! THANK YOU for Sharing! :)

Teresa Martínez- IGMA artisan said...

Sans, me encantó tu relato, una bonita manera de presentar las minis que una buena amiga ha hecho para ti.
Desde que descubrí tu traductor, me encanta leerte
Todos los blogs deberían tener un traductor!
Abrazos

Ana Anselmo said...

Good morning Sans!!! I had a fantastic idea (LOL)! You come to Portugal for a holidays and we will arrange a fantastic mini meeting with all our Spanish minifriends in the magic pond' gardens...what do you think?

Ana Anselmo said...

I forgot to ask, the beautiful birdhouse is from Katie, isn´t it?

Flor said...

¡Como me encanta ver tu trabajo Sans!!! ¡Eres fabulosa creando tanta magia y maravillas!!!
Un abrazo
Flor

Rosamargarita said...

Que preciosidades de traajos Sans! las ensaladas no son tan malas, lo feo es prepararlas... eres una artista de la ambientación, todos tus trabajos tienen esa característica: tienen olor y sabor!
El pequeño pajaro vino desde España? Volando? vaya viaje.
Muchos abrazos

Sans! said...

Ana!!!!!!! I am so excited by your suggestion. I think it is a fabulous idea! Maybe my Italian friends and any other European miniaturists who are interested can join us! LOL :) But even if I am there in Portugal just to meet you, it will be such a treat by itself already.

I am very serious about seeing Portugal, thanks to all your pictures , my friend . I have been looking at the possibility of touring Portugal and Spain in my next European trip. And if possible to also see Tangiers. I guess it is better if I see these places in Summer?

Sans! said...

Ahhhh, forgot to mention that the birdhouse is indeed Katie's .I fell in love with it and had to order it :). Her birdhouses are very distinctive and I too can recognise them anywhere.

And have you guessed where the bird is from? :) Eva gave one to each of her mini friends in Singapore when she was here :). It is made by her and she is very posable. No CGI or special effects used. :)

Sans! said...

Dear Birgit, can you tell now why it was that I could not recognise your cucumber ! I guess those over here are shorter and stubbier? LOL . That sounds a little cheeky!

You are such a comfort. Come here more and write me all those sweet things again and make me the happiest "little" girl .

By the way, dearie, it was good I got to celebrate your i-swear-you still-look-18 birthday with you :)

Sans! said...

Always good to see you, Sumaiya. Just saw a rare post from you. I will visit again to read more.

Sans! said...

Thank you Drora :). You are always rallying me along and I am really thankful for that!

Sans! said...

Caterina, you have said enough to make my head bloat and my spirit float :).

I have really enjoyed reliving my salad days in the past few posts. And my pleasure is 100 times more when I read your comments knowing that my little girl has somehow struck a chord with you too

Maybe it is the dollhouse-lovers in us. The little girls in us are never far away. I am glad mine has made a friend in yours :).

Norma Bennett said...

If boredom prompts you to make such a delightful post for us to enjoy then I wish you many more boring days (yes, it's selfish of my I know!!)...

Gorgeous little bird!

Unknown said...

now i feel like eating achar for lunch :P

tell the little girl to tell her mama that it's ok to eat cucumbers with the skin on!!! :P doesn't get her away from potato peeling duty though hehehhehe

Unknown said...

Sans, it sounds to me just like apple pie day, which only comes twice a year, thankfully. I don't much like the apple peeling, mainly because I'm not too skilled with the knife. Have you seen the people who can peel an apple in one long curling strip? That's not me.

Well, I know that salad day is dull, but getting to be a part of it was exactly the opposite! And how much magic happens when we're forced to sit in one place, and do one thing?

Everything in each picture is so perfect, I don't know where to begin, the candles, the worn mug, the knife, the lovely bird? But what I covet most of all is the toran over the window. It's wonderful. Did you make it?

Sans! said...

Ewa, I am at my Salad Days post and saw your comment about the music. I know exactly why you love this music :). They are what I call anime songs :). I love them and you can often find really good ones on mixpod :)

Sans! said...

Natalia, at home in Singapore, this is what we do with cucumbers: we cut off the two ends and rub the bit that was cut off with the cucumber so that they won't be bitter (must google to find out why that is so) . We then scratch the skin of the cucumber with a fork so that little strips of the skin are left. Makes for pretty little cucumber discs when you cut them.

But when I was at the ashram in India and even here for some Peranakan dishes, the skin is peeled off for the salads. I think they prefer the skin off when the cucumber is meant to be diced.

Sans! said...

Amy, I think Cindy or Asuka (my mini friends in Singapore) can peel in 1 long strip and maybe Rosanna and Eva too. (Yes, they all had been in my kitchen helping out with salads etc). I remember thinking maybe that's the test for whether you are a good mini maker :) because they all are. So I am very glad you can't do it either and I can throw that test out of the window.

And thank you for such sweet words. :) Remember when I asked you way back about YOUR toran? Amy, I did make these http://sansdollhousediaries.blogspot.com/2010/05/day-154-selecting-banjara-tapestry.html

And if you will let me, I will gladly make you a pair but better still, I can send you the fabric and the tiny mirrors so that you can make your own. Or I can just do both. I am sure you will do a far better job. My email is listed on my profile. :)

Ana Anselmo said...

It is so lovely to have tiny things from our mini friends from all over the world... it warms our heart, I must confess i have been thinking in making several things to send for those friends, but I can´t find the time for that!!!)

Flor said...

Lo vuelvo a ver y nuevamente abro enorme la boca Ö Y disfruto mucho admirando la vida propia que tiene cada miniatura hecha por ti Sans.
Un besito
Flor

Sans! said...

Querida Eva (tatalamaru), estoy tan feliz que les guste mi música y la revista. Que me animan. ¡Gracias!

Sans! said...

Flora, one day when you least expect it, the most beautiful creature will come by your kitchen to watch you wash, clean and cook. :) So be sure always to look your best! :)teehee

Sans! said...

Ascensión, que dejaron comentarios en muchos de mis mensajes, es difícil de recordar, estoy seguro. Que no pierda la cabeza!

Pajarito de Eva es correcto tan lindo?

Y sí, la niña es muy precoz, pero espero que ella también es amable y dulce. :)

Sans! said...

Bets, when I took the picture of the bird with the hemp in its mouth, the word "nest" didn't even figure. :) But i knew its a familiar picture and now I know why. :) Do you know this is not the 1st time you see things in my pic that I don't? :)

Katie of Katie's Clay Corner built that birdhouse and she sells them on her etsy. http://katiesclaycorner.blogspot.com/ and the bird was made by Eva :).

I usually talk about the minis at the end of the post especially when it comes to crediting the makers but my little girl won't allow me to write anything that will disrupt the suspension of disbelief :). So bear with me , I may do one post to introduce all the characters in the house but that will be one long long post :).

By the way, I love potato skins :).

Sans! said...

Teresa, estoy muy halagado de que usted está aquí para leer mis historias humildes. Tienes razón en que el traductor! :) Sin embargo, f no tiene el traductor, puede traducir la página a través de Google Translate. Todo lo que tienes que hacer es escribir el nombre del blog en el cuadro. El traductor de Google puede incluso detectar el idioma del blog para ti! Es un widget muy cool. Cuando la traducción es buena, es decir:).

besos

Sans! said...

Hola Ángel Flor:). Siempre la difusión de su amor y amables palabras! Gracias, mi querido amigo:). Le trajo sonrisas con ustedes hoy.

abrazosss

Sans! said...

RosaM, siempre he pensado que vive en España! ¿Usted vive en México, en su lugar? A medida que su perfil de blog dice? Estoy muy fascinado por México. :) Y siempre que las damas mexicanas deben ser muy buenos con sus manos, especialmente cordones:). Que sin duda encaja en la descripción. Creo que su trabajo está más allá de las palabras.

Besossss

Sans! said...

Norma :). That is the sweetest "plz go get bored" comment I have ever had :).

Sans! said...

Yuuuuums, achar! Will go well with porridge.

Cinds, the next time we meet, let's have Teochew porridge. I found this most amazing "tau lor" that is spicy !! Do you know they call tau lor Chinese Cheese? :) I only just found out !

Sans! said...

Ana, it takes me ages to send things as well. Sometimes just to find the right thing can take me months and I don't even make them :).

There's something about making as well because you can't really tell if it is suitable or good enough? That's why sometimes I prefer to send materials to friends who are already so creative, they will find someways to work with the material. :).

Sans! said...

Flor, la ismade aves por Eva de http://www.mini-escenas.blogspot.com/ y la pajarera es hecha por Katie de http://katiesclaycorner.blogspot.com/:). Que son una maravilla, ¿verdad?

Jorgelina Ferreyra said...

cuanto realismo!!!! son sorprendentes tus trabajos!!! felicitaciones por tantas maravillas!!!

Ana Anselmo said...

yes Sans, but I really want to make something for a couple of special "blog" friends, for a long time....and I am a little bit sad I didn´t make them until now.

Sans! said...

Jorgelina! ¡Bienvenidos! Estoy muy contento de verte:). Gracias por las amables palabras como:). Eva hizo el pájaro para mí:)

Sans! said...

Ana! Better late than never :). Your work is gorgeous and whoever the recipients are will be so happy, they can't thank their lucky stars fast enough. No matter how long it will take you so no need to be sad at all!

Eva said...

My dear Susan, I'm sad, I have lost a lot of your posts, precious diary stories .
So busy at work and also preparing the Show, Alex birthday... everything is absorbed.
From Days ago that I want to send an email explaining things and show you pictures ... .. I miss you...we miss you to all of you:)
I love this story, tell your little girl that salads can be fun, just need a little imagination and magic ... good things like bits of cheese, tomato, sweet corn ....Spanish people love them...
The little bird has found a good place to live:)I am happy
Un beso

Eva

Love the music

dalesdreams said...

lol! I have indeed spared my children from peeling potatoes.

Having grown up Irish, I peeled potatoes every day. We only have mashed on the holidays, but, I still love potatoes, just not the peeling part.

I'd rather be watching the birds, too. :)

I'm enjoying your pics, Sans! :)

Anonymous said...

Hola Sans! Gracias por visitarme y dejar tan lindo comentario. Wow tu blog es impresionante, me gusta mucho. Esta lleno de arte y es muy interesantes para leer. Es tan placentero ver las miniaturas de otros lugares y conocer personas tan amables al otro lado del mundo. Muchas gracias! Un abrazo!

Sans! said...

Wow, Eva! I have also just read your comment left here in September about the bird! Life has been a little crazy lately :). I was just about to pop by your blog too.

Funny Fai and I were just talking about Alex this Sunday :). We saw some sculptures and remembered how he had posed pretending he was one. Not sure if you remember it too. 3 months late but will you tell Alex Happy Belated Belated Birthday!

Sans! said...

Hey Dale, just read your comment on Eva's bird post too! I didn't know you are of Irish lineage:).

The only kind of potato I eat is mashed potato, the Malay style. It's called begedil. Try this recipe for comfort food : http://www.food.com/recipe/begedil-malaysian-deep-fried-potato-patty-356439

Hope you are feeling better!

Sans! said...

Hola Amary! Que ha visitado! Estoy muy contento de hacer otro amigo español! :) Y tú eres muy amable con sus elogios:). Gracias, mi nuevo amigo:)

Blog Widget by LinkWithin